


i once believed love would be black and white (but it's golden)

by lgbtqshipper



Category: Teenage Bounty Hunters (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, uhhhh everyone is happy? there's no problems? is that a tag??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:54:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29448108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lgbtqshipper/pseuds/lgbtqshipper
Summary: Once she gets to the kitchen, though, Sterling finds herself hesitating to make her presence known--seeing April pouring batter into the waffle maker and humming softly to herself is like something out of a domestic fantasy she never realized she had. She sneaks up quietly behind April and wraps her arms around her, feeling her girlfriend instinctively stiffen up and then relax as Sterling props her head on her shoulder."Hi, baby," April murmurs as she opens the machine and takes another waffle out.ORSterling and April celebrate Valentine's Day.
Relationships: April Stevens/Sterling Wesley
Comments: 7
Kudos: 41





	i once believed love would be black and white (but it's golden)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [freckledpianoman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/freckledpianoman/gifts).



> for freckledpianoman: the april to my sterling, the one who i've managed to convince to watch tbh twice, and the love of my life. happy valentine's day babe!! 🥰
> 
> just to preface this i wanna say that idk where this is in the timeline but just. assume it's some au where the events of the finale never happened, sterling and april are still together, and so are miles and blair. i just wanted an excuse to write a sappy valentine's day fic without having to think too much 😌
> 
> the title is from "daylight" by taylor swift.

Sterling wakes up on Valentine's Day feeling more refreshed than ever and full of an infectious, bubbly enthusiasm that has her grinning over nothing. This is the first Valentine's Day that she's spending with someone other than Luke, and it's also the first Valentine's Day where she's found herself this _excited._ She loved Luke and she knows that, but April? Well, she's something else entirely. Even the thought of her has Sterling thrumming with a whole lot of nerves and so much _happiness_.

Almost without thinking about it, Sterling's reaching for her phone on her nightstand and opening her messages. Her conversation with her girlfriend from the night before lights up her screen and she smiles at the plethora of hearts in April's goodnight message. Sterling certainly hadn’t expected April's affinity for emojis when they started really texting but she finds it incredibly endearing and it always makes her feel so awed and honored when she thinks about how she's the only one who gets to see this hidden soft side of her. 

_good morning babe!! happy valentine's day_ 🥺, she types out, watching the typing bubble appear not long after she hits send.

 _hey valentine_ 😘 _i missed you,_ April replies, and Sterling finds herself smiling fondly down at the message, her heart fluttering a little in her chest as she texts back, _i missed you too!!! can't wait to see you soon._

They've been dating for a couple months now and yet Sterling is still trying to wrap her head around the idea that love could be this _much,_ consuming her waking thoughts and sometimes even her dreams. Whenever she's not actively involved in doing something else (and sometimes even when she is), her thoughts inevitably drift back to her girlfriend. 

Sterling glances back down at her phone to a _me either. i'll be there in 20 babe_ 💕 and stretches in place, pocketing her phone as she gets to her feet. She pads quietly through the house, marveling at how quiet it is--her parents went off on a Valentine's Day trip together yesterday and aren't planning to be back for a few days more, and Blair immediately took advantage of it by spending the night with Miles ( _"_ _You should be grateful, I'm giving you the house to yourself for Valentine's Day!" she had said the night before as she tossed her overnight bag into the hybrid, making scissoring motions with her free hand. "Ew, Blair, I told you that we don't do that! Go have fun with Miles and please never make me see you do that again," Sterling shuddered. Blair paused mid-bringing her hand, index and middle fingers open in a wide V, up to her mouth and grins instead, twirling the keys around her finger. "Will do, Sterl. Hope you get lucky!"_ ).

April hadn't been able to come over last night, but Sterling doesn’t mind too much given that she'll be able to stay the night today. She almost gets distracted just imagining it, but pushes it to the back of her mind quickly, a tinge of red rising to her cheeks. _Later._ She still has to make waffle batter for her and April to use together once she gets here, as well as hopefully get changed and brush her teeth.

It takes Sterling longer than she's proud of to find all the ingredients for waffles in the kitchen (in her defense, a LOT of things have been moved around since the last time she looked) and then she accidentally spills a little bit of flour on herself while she's mixing, followed by smearing batter on her face when she goes to brush a stray strand of hair away (again, she didn't realize she had gotten any on her fingers!). The doorbell is ringing all too soon and while Sterling manages to catch her reflection in a hallway mirror and hurriedly tries to fix her bedhead and wipe some of the flour off her shirt, there's only so much she can do, so she opens the door and smiles widely in hopes it'll distract from her slightly disheveled state. 

April is much more put together, and it still catches Sterling off guard how much more comfortable she looks when not decked out in the required Willingham Academy uniform. _She looks beautiful,_ Sterling thinks, watching April's eyes rove over her as well and crinkle at the corners as her mouth curves up on the side.

"Hi," April breathes before she's bringing her hand up to the back of Sterling's neck and tugging her down towards her. Sterling's eyes drift closed before she remembers she never got the opportunity to brush her teeth and yelps, "Wait!"

Her girlfriend pauses immediately, glancing up at her concernedly, and Sterling feels almost embarrassed as she sheepishly clarifies, "Morning breath." April relaxes, considering it for a moment before deciding, "I don't care." Sterling doesn't stop her this time as April pulls her in, enjoying the brief and mostly chaste kiss. April leans away after a couple seconds, cupping her face tenderly as she reopens her eyes.

"You're cute," April tells her fondly, and Sterling can't help but grin dopily at her--she's in deep. They both are. "Now go brush your teeth."

April pushes past her, heading toward the kitchen, and Sterling turns around to call out, "You're cuter!"

"Impossible, you're the cutest," April insists without missing a beat, and Sterling narrows her eyes as she closes and re-locks the door.

"Oh, stop lying," she grumbles half-heartedly, which gets April to pause and turn in place.

"What are you going to do to stop me?" she replies, all too satisfied with herself.

"I'll kiss you to shut you up," Sterling declares matter-of-factly, smiling in triumph.

"That doesn't sound like much of a deterrent," April teases her, and Sterling raises an eyebrow.

"Even with morning breath?"

"Even with morning breath." Sterling had been joking, but April's voice is soft and genuine and she forgets for a second what she was doing or what they were even talking about in favor of staring at April's lips, curled in that crooked smile she adores, and wondering why she's not kissing her still right now. _Oh. Yeah. Teeth._

Sterling clears her throat, looking away from the source of her temptation. "So. I'm going to go get ready now." She moves toward the stairs to punctuate her statement, not missing the way April blinks rapidly a couple of times, shaking her head as if to clear it. _Guess I'm not the only one who got distracted,_ she can't help but think smugly.

She gets ready quickly, not changing clothes yet in case she spills more batter on herself while making the waffles, and hurries back downstairs. Once she gets to the kitchen, though, Sterling finds herself hesitating to make her presence known--seeing April pouring batter into the waffle maker and humming softly to herself is like something out of a domestic fantasy she never realized she had. She sneaks up quietly behind April and wraps her arms around her, feeling her girlfriend instinctively stiffen up and then relax as Sterling props her head on her shoulder.

"Hi, baby," April murmurs as she opens the machine and takes another waffle out.

"Hey," Sterling breathes, enjoying the way her girlfriend shivers slightly as she kisses up the column of her neck. "You smell nice."

"Hmm." April tilts her head to the side to give Sterling more access, hands stuttering a little as she bites down on her pulse point. "You feel nice."

Sterling smirks against her neck, pulling away suddenly. "But we should probably do this first."

Her girlfriend twists around, leveling her with an affronted glance. "Tease."

"You love me." Sterling grins, planting a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Yeah, whatever," April rolls her eyes dramatically, her affectionate smile betraying her.

"I love you too," she says, the warmth and adoration in her chest swelling to a size too big to keep inside her. It spills out in her words, her gestures, her expressions, _everything_ about her whenever she's with April. She sees it in her girlfriend too, in the way April's voice is gentler and she lets her guard down when they're together. _Nice indeed,_ she reflects thoughtfully. _Better than nice._

* * *

Later, they're sitting on Sterling's bed, cuddled close while they watch TV on her laptop. April is halfway on Sterling's lap, taking advantage of her control of the popcorn bowl by throwing some at the screen whenever anything particularly cringe-worthy happens. 

"Really? The Gargoyle King?" April repeats incredulously through a mouth full of popcorn.

"Shh, you're missing the show," Sterling insists in a hushed tone, pressing a kiss to the top of April's head and keeping her eyes fixed on the screen.

"If you can even call it that," she says skeptically.

"Riverdale is a comedy, babe," Sterling murmurs. "And if you don't pay attention, you'll miss the best parts."

April seems to consider it for a moment before hitting the pause button, stopping in the middle of the scene. Before Sterling gets the chance to protest, April turns around, clambering fully onto her lap so that she's straddling her. Raised up onto her knees, they're at pretty much the same height level, and Sterling can't really help but get lost in her girlfriend's determined gaze.

"Honey, I love you, and I'm always willing to support whatever relationship you have to this show, but..." April trails off for a second, hand trailing up her arm to grip her bicep tightly, and Sterling's stomach (and other parts of her) clenches with want. "...I can think of some ways to better use our time."

"Oh?" Sterling asks, her words not coming out sounding nearly as confident as she'd wanted. She looks at April interestedly, her voice lower and more suggestive when she continues, "Like what?"

"Like..." April leans even closer, lips so close to Sterling's ear she can feel the warmth of her breath. She waits with bated breath for more, her heart beating even faster in anticipation, and is rewarded with, "...Watching Star Wars."

Sterling groans loudly and leans back away from her, covering her eyes as April breaks out laughing.

"I hate you," she grumbles, even though the heat radiating off of April's body on her lap and the grounding hold she still has on Sterling's arm make her very aware that the opposite is true. "Also, you're such a nerd."

"No, you don't, and yes, I am," April replies breezily, and Sterling wants nothing more than to knock the cocky smile off of her face.

"Didn’t you say to me once that you wanted people to be honest with you?" Sterling recalls abruptly, watching with satisfaction how April's eyes darken at the memory of that moment and how Sterling had kissed her for the first time after she had said it.

"Yeah, I did," April says carefully, as if Sterling's going to use that admission to pull the same trick on her in revenge. "Why?"

"Well, if I'm being honest right now…" This time, it's Sterling’s turn to close the distance between them, and she parrots another sentiment April had expressed before right back at her: "I think I want you to ravage me."

She can hear April's breath hitch in her throat and smirks to herself, made cocky with the knowledge that April's been thinking about that night in the car when they almost went all the way just as much as she has.

"Yeah, I could do that," April repeats back a near-copy of the words Sterling herself had used, her voice huskier than before. She pushes Sterling down onto the bed with her own weight, capturing her lips with a fervor that catches her off guard but she certainly can't bring herself to mind. Then her girlfriend's tongue is in her mouth and their clothes are being shed and Sterling's mind goes blank of everything except _April, April, April._

* * *

The next morning, Sterling wakes up feeling rested and satisfied in a way she hadn't even realized was possible. If she's being honest, the view probably helps a lot--having April's face be the first thing she sees in the morning, her hair mussed and face free of tension, is definitely a plus. She looks so peaceful and adorable that Sterling is loath to move, all too content laying there with her girlfriend's head resting on top of her arm and against her chest and April's own arms wrapped around Sterling's torso. She starts absentmindedly playing with April's hair instead of getting up, reveling in the quiet little sounds she makes in her sleep and how she unconsciously leans into her touch. Sterling is startled when April suddenly lets out a sleepy groan, further entangling their legs and pulling her somehow even closer as she buries her face in her chest. 

"Good morning, sunshine," Sterling whispers, smiling adoringly down at her. "Hope you slept well."

"Mhm," April hums, lifting her head to blink blearily up at her. "You're so pretty."

"Thanks, babe," Sterling murmurs, ducking her head slightly to drop a kiss on April's forehead. "You look beautiful." They lay there in comfortable silence for a few more minutes, blissfully avoiding the world around them, before Sterling speaks again.

"You know, maybe we should get up and eat--"

"No, you're warm. The rest of the world is cold," April cuts her off stubbornly, and Sterling can't really find it in her to argue (if she's being honest with herself, she didn't want to get up either). "Roll over, I wanna be the big spoon."

"Shortie," Sterling laughs to herself.

"Shut upppp," her girlfriend complains, glaring halfheartedly at her. "Just do it."

"Okay, honey," Sterling acquiesces easily, flipping onto her side and feeling April immediately press herself against her back. 

After a moment, Sterling hears a muffled "I love you" spoken against her back.

She smiles, relaxing further into April's arms. "I love you too."

**Author's Note:**

> here's my [tumblr](https://stevenswesley.tumblr.com) if you wanna come check me out!! i'll confess i don't post a ton on there, but i will respond if u wanna send me asks or whatever!!!
> 
> also if u enjoyed this, comments fuel and validate me 😌 so if you've got the time i would love it if you could leave one telling me what you thought/liked about it!!


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